I say that because it was produced by a big studio with a decent budget to cater to a larger audience. That's likely why it's more in the relm of action horror too.

The original on the other hand was mostly funded by Coscarelli from memory and was his vision without studio involvement.

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But studios tend to look at a film / film property creatively like it needs to be a copy of other successful films of the last year or 2 prior.

Every story I have ever heard about a horror director who had previously been successful with a low budget film talks about having at least meetings with a big studio and the experience was always either the studio wants them to copy their previous film (like John Landis would only be offered other werewolf films, Romero would only be offered zombie films- if Hollywood had any zombie scripts, Joe Dante was only offered other killer animal / fish movies after Piranha, etc- that kind of thing) or they only give the filmmaker a script that another director turned down, and that script was a copy of another popular film (Friday, Nightmare, Omen, Poltergeist, Fright Night- you name it).

Not sure what their incentive would be to make it an action horror film, other than to try and net a wider audience so they could make more money. (Everything to a studio person breaks down into demographics.) Though, in this case, Aliens was a hugely successful sequel Hollywood made just a couple years before Phantasm II. So, there, RadioMoskow's comparison made a lot of sense.

Phantasm II works because it's just an entertaining 80's horror film. Good cast, great effects and a kick ass finale and ending. It doesn't work as much as the original because it lacks that atmosphere it had (mainly due to Universal insisting this one be a more mainstream-ish horror film)

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I don't know why more people don't have a problem with Phantasm II on the grounds of the change in Michaels alone. Sure, they can't get the same actor every time when they switch from a kid to an adult or the story suddenly takes place 10 years ahead of the last film. But James LeGros's performance was just completely wrong for the character of Mike. I know we disagree on the humor of the 3rd film, but if you remember the original- that humor is a little more natural to what the original film was. Mike as a character in the first film wasn't stoic and brooding. He was impulsive. He knew how to smile and laugh. James LeGros is like Mike crossed with Frankenstein's monster.

Anyone attached to an original film is libel to react to a sequel with mixed feelings. I have more than that, Phantasm II let me down. And I just don't get why everyone tells me that I'm alone in that disappointment.

I know more than a few people who share your feelings on Phantasm II. You're not alone.

I'm very much attached to the original but I still find the first sequel, warts and all, entertaining.

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That's good enough for me.

As far as the 3rd film is concerned, I don't think it was a total return to the original formula. But knowing it had to meld the first and 2nd films together meant keeping most of what I liked about Part II and expanding on that with characters I actually liked more. (I would have gone on, but yeah- I didn't like the blonde woman's character either. She's so forgettable I don't even remember her name.)

Coscarelli should have made all the sequels follow a more mysterious pattern in the progression of the storylines. For example: in the original, when Jody leaves (in the last 10 minutes) and Mike is alone in the house and the way the scene unfolds aren't linear. In a way. The Tall Man breaks a window and then Mike is suddenly not in the living room anymore- he's in the hallway. Which means The Tall Man gets to break through the door now, like he did the window and it's both a new scare and an incredibly creepy way for the scene to progress. You don't know what's going on in the story, because the experience of being in the house with Mike is terrifying. (The first few times you watch the movie.) A lot of 80's horror films were afraid to do that kind of thing. For fear of confusing the audience. And, yet, each film ends with a complete breakdown of reality. Each film ends in the same cliffhanger style. So... Even though I prefer the 3rd film, I know where Coscarelli cut corners in making it the definitive sequel all fans would have wanted.

In fact, Phantasm II and III feel a lot like the first 2 films in the House franchise. Only: obviously, slightly darker. Except that House was the perfect example of pulling the breaks off linear storytelling for purposes of character development. When the son disappears in the pool and Cobb thinks the ghost of his dead Aunt is talking to him, you have no idea what's going on. And the experience of being there becomes more important than following a formulaic story.

Mine arrived from Amazon (U.S.) and it's a beaut! I seem to recall a discussion about how the "newly remastered" version of the original was tinkered-with a bit...or am I making that up? Do I need to hold onto my DVD?

I seem to recall a discussion about how the "newly remastered" version of the original was tinkered-with a bit...or am I making that up? Do I need to hold onto my DVD?

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There were minimal tweaks, mainly a new ball effect added and the removal of a yellow bucket in the white room of the mausoleum. I was really worried about a crapoy CGI ball, but every time it showed up I was looking for anything that stood out and I saw nothing, in motion it all fit in perfectly. This is a situation like the Evil Dead 2 Blu-ray where wires were removed, but the film was not adversely affected. So keeping the DVD will depend on personal preference. I'm not keeping mine, just like I don't still have my Evil Dead 2 DVD.

I think the Amazon.CA orders are fucked. For whatever reason they just aren't going to stock it. I bet my order gets cancelled eventually. I'm not happy.

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It'll ship, they just need to get stock in. Since it's an imported title the supplier has to ship stock to Amazon.ca warehouses, so there could be a few days to a week delay from release date if the distributor didn't ship before release to them.

It'll ship, they just need to get stock in. Since it's an imported title the supplier has to ship stock to Amazon.ca warehouses, so there could be a few days to a week delay from release date if the distributor didn't ship before release to them.

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You're totally right. Haha I just really wanted it this week before the long weekend.

This sort of thing is actually really common on Amazon.ca when it comes to imported titles.

But with that being said, goddamn Well Go was terrible at distributing this. They put out an amazing product but didn't market it well at all.

There were minimal tweaks, mainly a new ball effect added and the removal of a yellow bucket in the white room of the mausoleum. I was really worried about a crapoy CGI ball, but every time it showed up I was looking for anything that stood out and I saw nothing, in motion it all fit in perfectly. This is a situation like the Evil Dead 2 Blu-ray where wires were removed, but the film was not adversely affected. So keeping the DVD will depend on personal preference. I'm not keeping mine, just like I don't still have my Evil Dead 2 DVD.

There were minimal tweaks, mainly a new ball effect added and the removal of a yellow bucket in the white room of the mausoleum. I was really worried about a crapoy CGI ball, but every time it showed up I was looking for anything that stood out and I saw nothing, in motion it all fit in perfectly. This is a situation like the Evil Dead 2 Blu-ray where wires were removed, but the film was not adversely affected. So keeping the DVD will depend on personal preference. I'm not keeping mine, just like I don't still have my Evil Dead 2 DVD.

Rumor has it that only Amazon, Best Buy, FYE and Diabolik are allowed to carry it. I might be forgetting one or two, but apparently all other retailers were shut out from carrying it.

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Yeah that sounds about right. There's a store in Toronto (Bay Street Video) that gets literally EVERYTHING in. Cult titles, mainstream shit, imports, region B titles, you name it. And they told me last week when I went in there that they just weren't able to order it. It wasn't even available to order. And they carry other Well Go titles, they even got the first releases of Phantasm and Phantasm V. This is so weird.